An interview with JEROME CAMPBELL

Jerome Campbell is a very unique kind of person, special in a way ! Jerome move to London to live his dream of a professional skateboarder but only managed just 8months of the fast paced city. It all got a bit to much for him as he tweaked out and had to move back to his home town of Sheffield. Jerome is a great skater one of the best styles around, also great photographer which a lot of people may not know ! But he can still be a nightmare when drunk, but who isn’t..

How long have you been living in Sheffield? Do you miss London? I have been back in Sheffield about 5 months now after living in London for the last year, its super nice to be back home Sheffield is where I was born and have spent the majority of my life plus all my friends and family are here always good to hang out with old mates. Yea I miss London its just so busy people are always skating or doing something strange, it’s a lot of fun but it can get a bit crazy plus its super expensive.

Have you skated (do you skate) with Mark Baines? I do skate with Baines every now and then, he lives in Sheffield too but recently he’s been really busy with his bikes he’s big on bike riding so I see him a lot less even though he only lives round the corner strange and I bit sad actually would like to skate with him more.

Did you share an apartment with other skaters in London (according to the rent, much expensive there) ? Yea when I was in London I lived with Neil smith his girlfriend and another of our friends, it was dope always out skating and trying to get stuff done film videos and shooting photos. It helped to live with more people, as the rent is crazy I pay less than half now in Sheffield with my girlfriend for a much nicer and larger place its nice not to be spending loads of money.

Is South Banks still the “meeting spot” or “warming spot” in London? It is but strangely I only went there twice in the whole year, that wasn’t because it was far away of hard to get to I just wasn’t a big fan of skating there. It’s a strange place because it’s kind of like a skate park but not if that makes sense ha-ha, good fun though nice place to visit but not to spend a whole day.

Does Ben Jobe make some appearance sometimes? This guy is amazing and pretty unknown abroad Ha-ha I don’t really know Ben Jobe in person only from videos but I have heard he’s a very funny character crazy dress sense and a dope skater.

There was the Olympic Games last year, did they make any stuff to skate? To be honest not really, even though we were super near to the venue about 2 miles away in fact. We did notice a change in how busy the city got loads of cops and security around spots so it got tuff, fun to be about in the hype.

How was thetrip in Beirut last year ? Absolutely incredible seriously eye opening, it was one of those places that you just don’t get to visit not exactly a holiday destination if you know what I mean. The spots were so hard to skate because the heat was just so gnarly, the people were brilliant super welcoming and friendly that’s really what you need when you go somewhere like that, it’s a pretty intense place to be on your own ha-ha.

How did you manage to get so much footage (beside dealing with sponsoring stuff and demo) in the street that look hard to skate ? It really was tuff, the spots are rugged and security in some places was super tight, surprisingly though getting footage wasn’t that hard because the surroundings were visually so good. The whole place was just so different so stoked to have been to Beirut and met those rad dudes.

Even if you left Blueprint a while ago, how do you feel about the end of Blueprint ? It’s a shame but all good thing come to an end, I have found a new home now at polar and I am so stoked on it. I have dope memories and brilliant friends from my time at Blueprint so that’s enough for me we had fun visited some brilliant places and had a laugh everyday. It’s sad to see it go but its one of those things blueprint was dope and the videos are all you need to confirm that.

As a sponsored skateboarder, you don’t have to buy (or steal) decks anymore. But do you steal one sometimes just for fun ? Ha-ha every ones heard about that, I didn’t actually steal the board I kind of borrowed it from the kid next door ha-ha, every now and then I do get a few boards just to keep or perhaps put on the wall but I am no thief.

How have you met Pontus ? You have common sponsors (shoe, wear) and you ride for his board company, I guess you spend much time with him? Yea we spent a lot of time together and we chat a load too its good to keep in touch he knows what I’m up to and I know what he’s up to, were working on so much at the moment that it helps to bounce ideas around between the whole team, means we all know what’s going on, communication is super important.

What are your short time projects? A lot of my time is spent shooting photographs and working on other creative advertising projects, it’s keeping me nice and busy. I think its really important to have a few things going on to keep your mind moving, I have a few small exhibitions coming up in the near future as well as a couple of collaborations with shops and friends.

Hmmm tell me more about the good food in the north of England? (Don’t forget I’m French and you know what people think about English food ahah)?
I just love pub food big burgers and chips with a pint haha whats better than that? It’s a bit of a UK obsession we can’t get enough of greasy food.

Who do you skate with daily? Can you describe a bit your homies? This is a bit sad but usually I skate on my own ha-ha, I like just cruising around down at the park when im the only one their its way more fun. Its tuff because a lot of my friends that do skate are only able to at weekends which kind of sucks, but we do go out and have sessions every now and then if the weathers any good (which it never is ha-ha)

Your other passion isphotography, what do you shoot usually? How have you been involved? I love shooting photographs on skate trips just saving dope memories of who you were with and where you were at, I have been shooting pictures for about 8 years I studied photography at university in Leeds which was mad fun, I just love it I would say I have the same amount of passion for it as I do for skating perhaps more as it doesn’t give you shiners.

Is there a Jerome Campbell part coming soon somewhere? The only big thing im working on is the polar video, going try and focus only on that for the next year and try and get some good footage together and put a part out that im super happy with, try to visit as many places as possible and visit some dope spots. Hjalte and me are trying to back to NY to film and shoot photos really soon so perhaps a few little blog cam clips to come.

A couple months ago, you have helped to build a DIY (in Sheffield) that look rad. how fun was it? Are their updates coming? That place is really rad its not to far from where I live but its defiantly more of a summer spot, there are plans to extend it this summer for sure, the majority of scene helps out to build there so its super communal. Perhaps some quarters and volcanoes would be good, might have to fly Pontus over to build haha.

What do you think about the success of the new independent companies (such as Polar)? Why do people like it? Is this the art direction and the fact that people can identify them selves with it? It’s a combination of things, artwork is obviously really important as a fundamental base along with consistency and out put. For us it’s really important to have a direction and stick to it that way you develop a strong image. Just something new interesting or “spicy” as Pontus would put it.It’s obviously super important to have a powerful direction and future ideas but it’s equally as important to remember the past and keeping to certain parameters is a must in my eyes. As for why people like the smaller independent brands its completely personal preference I guess it you just latch on to a company that share similar ideas to your self, puts out footage and products that get you hyped and makes you feel part of the whole thing. Skateboarding for me is like music, people like different genres, albums and artists you find the ones you like and stick with them because they make you feel something, your excited about what’s coming soon and you hyped on the stuff that’s come before.

Could you describe in a few words your teammate Hjalte ? How is sharing an apartment with him for a few weeks? He’s a dope guy, only good words can describe him, he is one of the only guys I think I could spend a whole month away with and not hate him by the end. Its crazy to watch him skate its incredible what such a beast can perform its bizarre to see someone with so much strength and power skate with the style of a female ballerina.

What does NYC evoke for you? What references come to mind at first when mentioning NY? For me it has to be the film “Home alone” I remember being a kid and watching in amazement at the buildings and people and being like shit I want to got to that place ha-ha, its just a magical place the whole thing feels like a movie set to me like you have seen it all before but not in person. As for skating in NY its amazing the spots are incredible not just because of the interesting obstacles you come across but the general aesthetic, the spots just look amazing.